By Mike Kinney
A citywide effort in San Pablo throughout August aims to tackle illegal dumping, trash, abandoned vehicles and graffiti.
The City of San Pablo’s Beautification program is a partnership involving the city’s police, public works and planning departments to spruce up the city as COVID-19 shelter-in-place restrictions ease.
During August, four San Pablo police officers have been reassigned to the Code Enforcement Unit to assist in removing neighborhood blight, said San Pablo police Lt. Shawn Ray. Public works crews will respond to any report of blight, and police service technicians are following up to ensure those reports get resolved, Ray said.
Starting today, the city’s Code Enforcement Unit resumed normal street sweeping, which means enforcement has resumed on vehicles parked in street sweeping zones. To warn residents, two police cadets were brought in to place flyers on parked cars, Ray said.
The city has been promoting the beautification campaign all over social media with videos and online flyers.
“Not only is trash and debris unpleasant to look at, but it can be pretty harmful to the environment as well,” said Amanda Booth, senior environmental program analyst for the City of San Pablo. “In San Pablo, our storm drain system flows directly to the local creeks and the bay untreated, which means any of the trash and debris left in our streets will eventually end up in our waterways. And trash in our waterways can hurt local wildlife, and as trash breaks down in the water it can release chemicals that can hurt people, plants and wildlife.”
Booth encouraged residents to take advantage of the city’s various free disposal options, such as disposal vouchers, hazardous waste drop off service, bulky item pickup and more.
For more information, visit the city’s website here.
